"No one is good but One, that is, God," (Luke 18:19).
One of the most prevalent questions asked by Christians and non-Christians alike is: If there is a God and He is good, then why is there suffering in this world? A Christian who lacks answers about suffering for those who have decided there must not be a God lacks understanding about his faith.
There is a good God, but we live in a world far from perfect. In the beginning, it was. The world God created was unspoiled, faultless, and complete.
"Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good" (Genesis 1:31).
There was no evil in God's perfect creation. There was no sin, sickness, violence, disaster, or death. Right before God completed His creation, He created the very purpose for which He made it. He created man.
"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth'" (Genesis 1:26).
God created us in His image, and we were given dominion over His creation. As God's agents, we received His authority to care for it.
"The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's; but the earth He has given to the children of men" (Psalms 115:16).
David wrote of the Lord: "You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet" (Psalm 8:6).
God created a perfect world, gave it to man, and put him in charge. Once Adam and Eve sinned against God, the results were instant. Sin, sickness, violence, fear, darkness, and all its evil entered into God's perfect creation because man had chosen independence from His Creator. He had rejected the source of all life and goodness and lost the authority God had given him.
The earth was now under the control of the enemy who had deceived Adam and Eve. Because of their sin, Satan had stolen their dominion. The loving Creator could only watch as the man He had created gave his gift to the enemy. God had given humanity authority over His creation, and humanity had thrown it away. Now, God must honor His Word.
Cain murdered Abel, yet God didn't intervene. Why didn't He? God couldn't go against His Word. The earth belonged to man (Psalms 115:16), and man had given it to Satan. The only way God could now intervene in people's lives was through their belief in His covenants. Ultimately, man's authority was restored through God's ultimate covenant of grace—God's gift of redemption through Jesus Christ. Only through our faith can God "do something" in our lives.
Suffering arises from living in a world of sin, sickness, and destruction. The evil present in this world is not God's fault. Jesus has restored the dominion we relinquished. We now bear the responsibility to exercise the authority He has given us. We have His authority to "reign in life" (Romans 5:17), "heal the sick" (Luke 9:2), "resist the devil" (James 4:7), and "believe and receive" (Mark 11:24).
There is a God, and He cares. He is waiting for us to trust Him. Born-again Christians are His light shining in a world filled with evil's deception.
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16)
As Christ is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). We are Jesus in this fallen world. We are to exercise the authority He has given us and maintain the dominion He has restored. We are to demonstrate His goodness in this world's present darkness.
His light in you dispels the darkness. God reveals His goodness through you. Are you shining?
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